WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ran into serious trouble on Monday after a woman who accuses the conservative judge of sexually assaulting her 36 years ago said she is willing to testify before Congress.

Christine Blasey Ford said via a lawyer she is ready to answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee on her allegation that a drunken Kavanaugh and one of his friends trapped her in a room and attempted to pull her clothes off at a high school party in 1982.

Kavanaugh, whose approval later this week had appeared certain, has denied the allegations, and said he was willing to return to the committee to answer the charge.

“I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone,” he said in a statement released by the White House.

“I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation from 36 years ago and defend my integrity.” The newly-surfaced allegations against Kavanaugh make the Supreme Court the latest US institution to be rocked by fallout from the year-old #Metoo movement exposing sexual misconduct.

Ford’s accusation, which became public only on Friday and her identity known only on Sunday, now threatens to derail one of the most consequential appointments to the nine-seat high court in decades.

Evenly balanced for years, the court is expected to tilt decidedly conservative if Kavanaugh is approved, potentially threatening women’s access to abortion, restrictions on presidential powers, and efforts to curb gun ownership.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2018